Visual Concepts (a part of 2K Sports) entices console gamers and sports fans back to the virtual NBA arenas with a selection of new and refined control features. Foremost, the game's new "Shot Stick" mechanic lets players to steer their shots with the right analog stick, allowing them to throw off defenders with timing and finesse. "Dual Player Control" promotes teamwork on the floor, as the D-pad can be used to set up quick outlet passes, give-and-gos, and even alley-oops. The "Strip and Rip" system is designed to allow skilled defenders a better chance at picking off a pass, if they can anticipate its direction. Along with all of the real-life stars of the NBA, gamers can create their own pro baler character, and see to his training and development through the game's new "24/7" feature. Gamers can follow their custom players on and off the court, to manage all sorts of individual activities, from personal training to big-money endorsement deals.
Fans of EA Sports' long-running NBA Live series can express themselves on the hardwood like never before in this cross-platform "06" edition, thanks to the introduction of the "Freestyle Superstar" feature, which expands upon earlier editions' "Freestyle Control." Gamers who play as the league's biggest talents will have access to an alternate control scheme designed to allow them to perform exceptional moves, such as deceptive passes, unorthodox shots, and powerful dunks. Different superstar players have different move sets available, according to their playing styles and specialties, as represented by eight categories: inside scorers, outside scorers, high fliers, playmakers, power players, and shooters. A few extremely proficient players may have more than one superstar style available to them, and gamers can choose which one they'll use.
The long-running Need for Speed series races into new territory with this cross-platform, cross-generational release. Most Wanted is built upon many of the fan favorite features and modes from previous games in the series, including a forgiving yet credible physics engine, vehicles of real-life makes and models, and state-of-the-art graphics. As the previous Need for Speed: Underground, much of the game is styled around the illicit street racing scene, and as in earlier games such as Need for Speed III and Hot Pursuit 2, many of the ost Wanted's challenges involve not only getting from one place to another in the fastest time, but avoiding ambitious law enforcement officers (in souped-up vehicles of their own) all along the way.
After winning critical acclaim and a larger market share with its previous year's edition, the NHL 2K series returns to the ice for 2006, with a release that comes just prior to the real-life sport's return to play -- following the league's widely bemoaned lock-out hiatus in the 2004-2005 season. NHL 2K6 introduces an "On-the-Fly Coaching" system, designed to allow gamers to give basic strategic commands to their entire line at once. On offence, players may be coached to pinch the defensive formation, or to crash the net when the goalie is having trouble holding on to his rebounds. On defense, the line can be ordered to fall back into tight protection around the goal, or to spread out to try to move the puck out of the zone at almost any cost.
